It may come as a shock to many of our counterparts far away in the subcontinent that many freelancers from the developing world are not trusted in the west to the same degree as those here in the west. This is hardly about race, colour, religion or anything personal. The underlying worry that we have in the west is that we will send a deposit only to find out that the freelancer was not prepared to complete said work and we were conned.

It is a problem in all areas of what we arrogantly refer to as the "developing world". Whether you are in the subcontinent, China, Brazil, Indonesia, Egypt or South Africa, the "western" world finds it hard to trust freelancers from other countries. It hardly helps when the western media portray the east to be full of scammers who take your credit card details and help to expand their child laboured business! Similarly, in the west, we have become sick of telemarketers calling us on a pleasant evening in order to tell us why we must buy a product from "John".

This may affect and concern people in many parts of the world, but this is a concern to freelancers in the Europe and America as dampened trust leads to freelancers abroad charging less and killing our entire industry.

I have, therefore, constructed pearls of advise for freelancers in the "developing world".

Pearls of Wisdom

To restore trust you should:

1. Deal through Escrow

Escrow provides an amazing service. Clients from any part of the world can pay freelancers with absolute confidence knowing that if something goes wrong the money is secure with Escrow. Using an established third party such as Escrow can remove any doubts and worries a client may have.

I suggest that you should suggest this service to your clients, as sometimes they may feel uncomfortable approaching you about it. It also helps with building a strong foundation of trust with your client before dealing with them. They will start to trust you, and when you deliver, they will tell any friends or family who require your services about you. This is the best form of marketing.

2. Have a healthy portfolio

If your portfolio contains good work and a client can visit your previous work by going to an independent website, this will build trust. Show the best of your work and have a cool and dynamic design. You may wish to have a Q&A or 'About' section on your website in which you address issues of uncertainty.

3. Reference

If you have worked with western companies in the past, ask them if it is possible to use them as a reference. When a client approaches you and raises a concern you may wish to politely offer them the contact details of your references.

4. Socialize

If you are a regular on a forum, then this can help build credibility and trust. A freelancer from Iran or Mexico who has made friends and contacts on a forum over the last five years is somewhat less likely to run away with money when their credibility is at stake.

Socially networking through sites such as Linked In, Twitter and Facebook can help substantially. Add your client on Facebook or follow them on Twitter, because large following on twitter or a large friends base on Facebook will show potential clients that you are more trustworthy than our stereotypical judging minds may have thought.

5. Tell the Truth

If you say your name is Jack when your name is actually Khaleelurrahman Miah, it will automatically turn a client off if they find out. If you lie about work which you have done previously, your age, country or anything for that matter it really undermines trust. The best way to impress a client is to tell the truth.

6. Sort out the Lingo

DO NOT refer to your client as "Sir". It does not bode well with any client who I know and hardly turns them on! Other errors in language or tone include using complex terms and phrases in wrong places in order to impress the client.

For example, please allow me to demonstrate an unhealthy conversation between a freelancer from India (Arun) and a client from the UK (John).

John: I was looking to have website redesigned, what would you charge? Arun: Sir, I would be honoured to delegate this task from you and consummate a freshly designed website for you, sir, I would charged whatever you envisage to be good enough price in the economics of today's recession climate...sir John: Huh?

If you think I am exaggerating, I have actually had a similar conversation and it was a nightmare! Arun should say: "I'd love to do that for you and luckily I am lowering my rate due to the credit crunch to $x.00 an hour."

Conclusion

Use common sense and place yourself in the shoes of the client and try to see things from their perspective. Automatically, you'll begin to conjure up solutions to these problems.

Agree or disagree with anything in this post? Are you affected by the issues raised in this post? Comment below. Liked it? Please social bookmark using the links below, it's a nice way to say Thanks.